L-G remains out of reach

Massive protests have been reported from different parts of the country after the brutal gangrape of the 23-year-old, as intellectuals, politicians and students took to the streets demanding justice. However, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Tejendra Khanna is missing from the scene.

According to officials in the L-G secretariat, Khanna is in the US at present to spend the Christmas vacations with his daughter. "He is likely to join office on January 4," an official said.

The L-G is the official to whom Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar reports. All meetings related to law and order issues in the Capital, attended by top police officers, are chaired by Khanna.

Unlike other states where the police chief or the director general of police reports to the state government, Delhi has a different police set-up as it is a union territory. The commissioner of Delhi Police reports to the union home ministry through the

L-G, an administrative head.

Nutan Guha Biswas, principal secretary to the L-G, confirmed that Khanna is "not in town". When asked if he had been informed about the incident, Guha said, "I would rather not comment on that."